These PMM tricks are provided as-is to me by the software team. I know
nothing about them.
Using the PMM library view to browse your DMS.
This is a bit of a hack, but if you REALLY want to browse your music using
the library view of the PMM, it is possible. There are some non-obvious
things you need to do to make sure that everything will work correctly.
As always, this method is unsupported. Don't contact customer
service if you screw it up.
How to use the PMM to browse your DMS:
- Backup your old PMM database.
Just rename the "data" subdirectory of your install (usually "C:\Program
Files\PhatNoise Music Manager\Data\") to something like "data.real" (so the
directory is now "C:\Program Files\PhatNoise Music Manager\Data.real\").
This effectively wipes out your old DB. The next time the PMM starts, it
will see there's no db, so it will ask you to load songs.
- Load your DMS
Insert your DMS. In the load songs dlg, press "Browse" and choose the PHTDTA
drive. Uncheck the box marked "m3u" (DMS m3u files will just confuse the
PMM, since they are formatted for the PhatBox). Be prepared to wait a long
time - it will load the tags of ALL the music files on your DMS. Over USB,
that could be a while.
- Load your DMS in the Device View
Press Device, and choose the "PhatNoise DMS" device. When it's done
loading, you can use the PMM to edit the tags of files on the DMS. If
you don't load the DMS device view, any file tags you change WILL NOT be
updated in your SSA/DMS database!
- Browse/Play/Edit
Go ahead and browse your music via the library view. I find it very useful
to correct tags. You can also rclick the "All Songs" item, and get
statistics to impress your friends.
- Save/Eject from the Device View
Don't forget to Save/Eject from the PMM, or your tag DB won't pick up all
the changes you made!
- Restore your old PMM database
After you've Save/Ejected your DMS, close the program. At this point, the
DMS is no longer connected, so you don't want those files in your PMM
database. Explore to your installation directory, and you'll see a new
"data" subdirectory. This directory contains the PMM db of your DMS.
Rename it to something like "data.DMS" to save it. Then rename or copy
your old DB (which we stored as "data.real") back to "data". The next you
start the PMM, it will now use your old database.
The next time you want to browse your DMS, simply swap the "data" directory
with "data.DMS". This will save you the hassle of waiting for your songs
to load. I would highly recommend that you keep your regular PMM db
separate from the DMS PMM db, since the PMM doesn't do disconnected drives
well.
Again, this method is unsupported. Don't contact customer service
if you screw it up. If you find you have a messed up database, just delete
that Data directory ("C:\Program Files\PhatNoise Music Manager\Data\") and
rebuild your PMM database.
Happy browsing, and Happy PhatBoxing.